Ohio Welcomes Targeting Excellence

Earlier this month, Targeting Excellence held its first Ohio committee meeting during the Ohio Pork Congress. Targeting Excellence will be hosting its first fundraiser in the state of Ohio during 2016. This will create scholarship opportunities in 2017 for college students in Ohio who are majoring in food animal agriculture related degrees.

Targeting Excellence received a generous donation from Ted and Lori Williams, both Ohio natives, to kick off the organization’s efforts in the state. Ted says, “Targeting Excellence is way to support the next generation of industry professionals and is our opportunity to give back to the industry that has provided a livelihood & career to us. The event itself is a great way to support and benefit animal agriculture here in Ohio and will be a great way for the industry and students to meet.”

Targeting Excellence will be hosting a Sporting Clay Scholarship Classic on September 29th 2016. This will be a great opportunity for students to meet and network with a variety of industry professionals during a fun day of sporting clay competition. More details on the event will be available as the date approaches.

One Ohio Committee member, Russell Gillam, is excited to see the organization fulfill a critical need in Ohio agriculture. He says, “I am excited to serve on the committee for the first Targeting Excellence event in Ohio. Targeting Excellence provides a unique opportunity for students to pursue careers in food production, while interacting with their future peers. Our goal is to help provide an opportunity for students to be mentored during their education and reduce the financial commitment required to pursue a career path in food animal production”. By focusing on supporting students who are pursuing food animal agriculture related degrees we can ensure the state has educated and qualified agriculture leaders in the years to come.

The scholarships and the Sporting Clay Scholarship Classic are made possible through corporate and private donations. Targeting Excellence was founded in 2013 with the vision, “To unite agribusinesses, production systems, and institutions of higher education in a common cause – to ensure the world’s food supply by providing scholarships for students committed to food animal agriculture.” The organization is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit with the IRS. Consequently, all donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Targeting Excellence will be hosting fundraisers in Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania during 2016. If you are interested in supporting their efforts in Ohio or any of the other states, please visit the Targeting Excellence website (https://www.targetingexcellence.org), contact Rachel Virden (rvirden@targetingexcellence.org), or contact any of the committee members to learn more about sponsorship opportunities or to make a donation.